Scottish Executive

Asylum Seekers

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive which Scottish police force premises are being used by Home Office officials involved in the deportation of asylum seekers.

Cathy Jamieson: The use to which police premises are put, including accommodation arrangements with other agencies, are operational matters for Chief Constables and the agencies involved. I am not aware of any police premises being routinely used by Home Office officials. Although, depending on where asylum seekers liable to detention before removal come into contact with the police, they may be held temporarily in police offices pending the Home Office arranging their transfer to a removal centre.

Audiology

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will adopt the Royal National Institute of the Deaf and Her Majesty's Government’s Department of Health’s initiative that utilizes high street hearing aid practitioners to assess suitability for, and the fitting of, digital hearing aids to reduce current waiting times as a result of any shortage of audiology staff in the NHS.

Mr Tom McCabe: We are aware of the initiative and its impact on audiology services in England and understand that it is only appropriate at sites where the audiology service has already been modernised. There are currently no plans to adopt this approach in Scotland but the situation will be kept under review.

Audiology

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce free hearing tests for all, in light of the decision to introduce free eye and dental checks for all.

Mr Tom McCabe: Hearing tests are currently free under the NHS, and only in exceptional circumstances, such as in private medical or legal cases, is a cost incurred.

Audiology

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost is to the NHS of administering hearing checks.

Mr Tom McCabe: This information is not held centrally.

Blood Donors

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what urgent action it will take to encourage the donation of blood at a time of shortage in the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: The recruitment and retention of blood donors is managed by the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS). Using an integrated strategy of advertising and public relations, SNBTS continually strive to encourage and recruit new blood donors. Three main publicity launches are held at key holiday periods to prevent problems with the blood supply.

  The recent need to resort to an emergency appeal for the first time in four years, which resulted in 1,500 new donors, was very much a last resort. The challenges faced by SNBTS in recruiting new donors are shared by other UK blood services.

Carers

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was (a) allocated to and (b) spent on support for carers by (i) local authorities and (ii) other organisations in each of the last four years.

Mr Tom McCabe: The following table sets out the pre-existing provision for carers and the total new resources allocated by the Scottish Executive to local authorities this year and over the last four years under (i) the Carers Strategy and (ii) specifically to develop respite services. In addition, local government finance settlements for social care over the same period rose from £1.1 billion in 1999-2000 to £1.6 billion this year. These resources are just part of the total resources available to local authorities. Councils make service planning decisions based on all available resources and in the light of local needs and priorities.

  Information on local authorities’ expenditure on respite and other services to support carers is now being collected centrally. Figures for 2002-03 will be available early next year. In addition, the Executive is working to develop outcome measures for carers in order to provide a clearer picture of how carers are being supported on the ground.

  A great many voluntary sector organisations receive support both at a national and local level to provide support for service users and their carers. Information on the total resources available to such organisations is not held centrally.

  Resources to Local Authorities to Support Carers (£ Million)

  

  
 Existing
 New
 New
 New


  
  
 Carers Strategy
 Respite
 Cumulative


 1999-2000
 5.00
  
  
 0.00


 2000-01
 5.00
 5.00
  
 5.00


 2001-02
 5.00
 5.00
 5.00
 15.00


 2002-03
 5.00
 5.00
 6.00
 26.00


 2003-04
 5.00
 5.00
 11.00
 42.00

Civil Servants

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) new entrants and (b) new entrants aged over 50 to the Civil Service in Scotland were employed in each department in each of the last five years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The number of new entrants to each of the Scottish Executive core departments in the last five financial years is provided in Table A. Table B provides the number of these new entrants that were aged 50 or over on the day they were recruited. These figures exclude casual staff. Both tables include employees that have rejoined the Scottish Executive core departments during the specified years.

  Table A: Total New Starts

  

 
  1998-99
  1999-2000
  2000-01
  2001-02
  2002-03


 Centrally Managed Staff
 4
 12
 12
 17
 10


 Corporate Services
 77
 99
 63
 83
 70


 Development Department
 46
 44
 40
 66
 28


 Education Department
 24
 33
 29
 45
 30


 Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning
 44
 76
 69
 60
 44


 Environment and Rural Affairs Department
 129
 126
 166
 123
 90


 Finance and Central Services Department
 40
 99
 50
 103
 71


 Health Department
 36
 30
 45
 43
 28


 Justice Department
 24
 19
 27
 29
 17


 Legal and Parliamentary Services
 3
 10
 13
 14
 25


 All Core Departments
 427
 548
 514
 583
 413



  Table B: Number of Staff Aged Fifty Years or Over When Recruited

  

 
 1998-99
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03


 Centrally Managed Staff
 .
 .
 .
 2
 .


 Corporate Services
 10
 17
 10
 10
 17


 Development Department
 1
 .
 3
 4
 4


 Education Department
 3
 5
 1
 1
 .


 Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning
 4
 5
 6
 6
 3


 Environment and Rural Affairs Department
 5
 5
 10
 8
 6


 Finance and Central Services Department
 1
 4
 2
 6
 .


 Health Department
 2
 3
 5
 5
 1


 Justice Department
 6
 4
 2
 4
 5


 Legal and Parliamentary Services
 .
 2
 .
 2
 2


 All Core Departments
 32
 45
 39
 48
 38

Debt Arrangement and Amendment (Scotland) Act 2002

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 will come into force.

Hugh Henry: Part 1 of the 2002 act provides for a national statutory debt arrangement scheme. A secondary consultation on the draft regulations in implementation of the scheme was completed on 2 October 2003 and the Communities Committee took evidence from interested bodies at that time. The committee were broadly supportive of the draft regulations and consultation responses are being analysed.

  Before the scheme can be brought into force, the necessary infrastructure must be in place. This includes IT systems and supporting arrangements to make sure that necessary money advice is available. Work on this is going ahead with all speed, but it is not possible at this stage to be precise about a commencement date. My expectation is that the debt arrangement scheme will be in force by autumn 2004.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how often, and for how long, on average, clinics dealing with tooth extractions under general anaesthetic are held in each NHS board area.

Mr Tom McCabe: This information is not held centrally. Individual NHS boards will hold information about the frequency and duration of such clinics in their area.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is in each NHS board area for children awaiting a general anaesthetic for tooth extractions.

Malcolm Chisholm: The specific information requested is not available centrally. Information on waiting times is collected retrospectively, and does not identify where a general anaesthetic has been administered.

  The median waiting times for in-patient and day case treatment for tooth extractions in children, during the year ended 30 June 2003, by NHS board area of residence, is given in the following table.

  NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for In-patient and Day Case Treatment for Tooth Extraction in Children1, by NHS Board Area of Residence. Year Ended 30 June 2003P

  

 NHS Board
 Median 
  WaitP (Days)


 Argyll and Clyde
 10


 Ayrshire and Arran
 10


 Borders
 4


 Dumfries and Galloway
 64


 Fife
 -2


 Forth Valley
 28


 Grampian
 -2


 Greater Glasgow
 18


 Highland
 13


 Lanarkshire
 20


 Lothian
 125


 Orkney
 -3


 Shetland
 -3


 Tayside
 16


 Western Isles
 -3


 NHSScotland
 15



  Source: ISD Scotland, SMR01.

  P Provisional

  1 Children have been identified as patients aged less than 17 years at date of admission.

  2 Information not shown due to unrepresentative incomplete data.

  3 Information not shown due to small numbers.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many orthodontic consultants are employed by each NHS board, expressed also per head of population.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table shows whole time equivalent (WTE) and headcount of orthodontic consultants and the population by NHS board area, correct at 30 September 2002. The population estimate is correct at 30 June 2002.

  Orthodontic Consultants by NHS Board

  

  
 Orthodontic 
  Consultants
 Population
 Rate 
  per 100,000 of population


 NHS Board
 Headcount
 WTE
 
 Headcount
 WTE


 Argyll and Clyde
 2
 2.0
 418,750
 0.48
 0.48


 Ayrshire and Arran
 2
 2.0
 367,060
 0.54
 0.54


 Borders
 -
 -
 107,400
 -
 -


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1
 1.0
 147,310
 0.68
 0.68


 Fife
 1
 1.0
 350,620
 0.29
 0.29


 Forth Valley
 3
 2.3
 279,370
 1.07
 0.82


 Grampian
 2
 2.0
 523,290
 0.38
 0.38


 Greater Glasgow
 6
 4.5
 866,080
 0.69
 0.52


 Highland
 2
 2.0
 208,140
 0.96
 0.96


 Lanarkshire
 3
 3.0
 552,910
 0.54
 0.54


 Lothian
 2
 2.0
 779,100
 0.26
 0.26


 Orkney
 -
 -
 19,210
 -
 -


 Shetland
 -
 -
 21,940
 -
 -


 Tayside
 3
 1.9
 387,420
 0.77
 0.49


 Western Isles
 -
 -
 26,200
 -
 -


 Scotland
 26
 23.7
 5,054,800
 0.51
 0.47



  Sources: Medical and Dental Census, ISD Scotland & GRO mid-year population estimates

  The "Rates per 100,000 population" should be treated with caution. The variability in rates between health boards can be partly explained by the small number of consultants each rate is based on. Also, these rates do not take account of cross-border flows between health boards e.g. patients resident in one health board area may receive their orthodontic treatment in another health board.

Education

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current position is with regard to the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s programme on English for speakers of other languages and what the timescale is for implementing the programme in the (a) school, (b) further education and (c) higher education sector.

Peter Peacock: This is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

Health

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list in order of priority the health action points referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland .

Malcolm Chisholm: As I explained when I appeared before the Health Committee on 30 September, we have already published our 12 national health priorities. Our approach is to have a limited number of priorities and targets, rather than overburden the service.

  Service redesign underlies a lot of our objectives, so it is significant in that context. Service redesign will be relevant for cancer, mental health and for coronary heart disease and stroke. It will also be relevant for waiting times, for delayed discharge and for 48 hour access to the primary care team. The key driver that runs though all our priorities is the experience of patients and the need for patients to be more involved in service redesign.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the NHS drugs bill has been in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The NHS drugs bill in each of the last three years is given in the following table.

  

 Financial Year
 Drugs Bill Cost


 2000-01
 £639.16 million


 2001-02
 £701.43 million


 2002-03
 £773.41 million



  The cost of the drugs bill is the gross ingredient cost of drugs, dressings and appliances, minus pharmacy discount.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on (a) atypical antipsychotic drugs, (b) antipsychotic drugs, (c) antidementia drugs and (d) Ritalin, in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is given in the following tables. The data provided in respect of (d) is given for methylphenidate hydrochloride, which is available in a number of proprietary forms i.e. Ritalin, Equasym, Tranquilyn and ConcertaXL. The cost given is the cost of items before addition of any pharmacy fees and deduction of any discount and patient charges. Data in the tables show the total number of prescribed items dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors but do not take into account medicines dispensed by hospitals or hospital-based clinics.

  (a) Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs

  

 Year
 No. of Prescribed items
 Gross Ingredient Cost (£)


 2000-01
 123,625
 9,376,381


 2001-02
 185,808
 13,310,985


 2002-03
 240,835
 16,996,057



  (b) Antipsychotic Drugs

  

 Year
 No. of Prescribed items
 Gross Ingredient Cost (£)


 2000-01
 534,983
 11,419,967


 2001-02
 495,899
 15,211,789


 2002-03
 524,270
 18,789,379



  (c) Drugs for Dementia

  

 Year
 No. of Prescribed items
 Gross Ingredient Cost (£)


 2000-01
 12,311
 1,089,611


 2001-02
 20,931
 1,941,139


 2002-03
 33,497
 3,285,396



  (d) Methyphenidate Hydrochloride

  

 Year
 No. of Prescribed items
 Gross Ingredient Cost (£)


 2000-01
 22,407
 428,345


 2001-02
 24,886
 480,542


 2002-03
 30,276
 786,527



  The information in the tables has been provided by ISD.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on psychological intervention, or other non-drug therapies, in respect of (a) severe and enduring mental illness, (b) attention deficit hyperkinetic disorder, (c) depression and (d) dementia, in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which drugs have been withdrawn from use for the treatment of people under 18 in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The safety of medicines is a reserved matter and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

  The agency has advised that the Committee on Safety of Medicines recently issued advice that the antidepressant drugs paroxetine (Seroxat) and venlafaxine (Efexor) should not be used in children and adolescents aged less than 18 years of age with depressive illness. No drugs have been withdrawn for use specifically within this age group in the last three years.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current recommended intake levels of selenium are for (a) males and (b) females.

Mr Tom McCabe: I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that the Reference Nutrient Intake for selenium is 75 mcg/d for an adult male and 60 mcg/d for an adult female. An increase of 15 mcg/d is recommended for lactating women.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to introduce full annual health checks for those aged 75 and over.

Malcolm Chisholm: The terms of service for general practitioners already require them each year to invite each of their patients aged 75 or over to participate in a consultation to assess whether the patient has any need for general medical services.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been issued to hospitals regarding patients’ nutrition.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive recognises that high quality, nutritious food is essential to improving the health and functional ability of hospital patients. In February 2002, the National Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Advisory Committee published a report; Promoting Nutrition for Older Adult In-Patients in NHS Hospitals in Scotland . The aim of the report is to provide professionals with practical guidance on how to implement the nutritional standards as set down in the Nursing Homes Scotland Core Standards for Nutritional Care.

  NHS Quality Improvement Scotland issued new clinical standards for food, fluid and nutritional care in hospitals on 19 September 2003. The new standards will help improve the quality of meals and drinks provided in Scotland’s hospitals and make sure that the dietary need of all patients are identified as soon as they go into hospital.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether guidelines have been issued on the recommended number of dieticians employed in hospitals.

Malcolm Chisholm: The British Dietetic Association is currently working on guidelines on the number of dieticians required across a number of general specialty areas. However the association has made no recommendations about numbers of dieticians in hospitals. No guidelines have been issued by the Scottish Executive on the recommended number of dieticians in hospitals in Scotland.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dieticians are currently employed in each hospital.

Malcolm Chisholm: The available information on all dieticians employed in NHS Scotland is shown by organisation in the table. Information by individual hospital is not available centrally.

  Dieticians Employed in NHSScotland by Organisation

  

 Headcount and Whole Time Equivalent: at 
  31 March 2003
 
 


 Organisation
 Headcount
 WTE


 Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
 16
 14.0


 Lomond and Argyll Primary Care NHS Trust
 11
 9.4


 Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Primary Care 
  NHS Trust
 14
 11.2


 Ayrshire and Arran Acute Hospitals NHS 
  Trust
 25
 23.0


 Ayrshire and Arran Primary Care NHS Trust
 25
 21.2


 Borders Primary Care NHS Trust
 15
 11.2


 Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity 
  Hospitals NHS Trust
 8
 6.3


 Fife Primary Care NHS Trust
 35
 30.2


 Forth Valley Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
 14
 12.8


 Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust
 16
 13.8


 Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust
 26
 20.3


 Grampian Primary Care NHS Trust
 37
 26.1


 South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS 
  Trust
 19
 16.4


 North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS 
  Trust
 36
 31.7


 Yorkhill NHS Trust
 14
 11.5


 Greater Glasgow Primary Care NHS Trust
 43
 34.8


 Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
 9
 7.0


 Highland Primary Care NHS Trust
 10
 6.5


 Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
 27
 22.5


 Lanarkshire Primary Care NHS Trust
 20
 19.0


 Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust
 39
 31.9


 West Lothian Healthcare NHS Trust
 10
 7.2


 Lothian Primary Care NHS Trust
 28
 23.3


 Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust
 17
 14.3


 Tayside Primary Care NHS Trust
 29
 24.0


 Orkney Health Board
 3
 2.5


 Shetland Health Board
 1
 1.0


 Western Isles Health Board
 4
 3.1


 Highland Health Board Headquarters
 1
 0.2


 Golden Jubilee National Hospital
 2
 2.0


 State Hospital
 1
 0.5


 Scotland
 555
 459.1



  Source: National Manpower Statistics from payroll ISD Scotland.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are mechanisms in place to monitor the quality of food served in NHS hospitals and, if so, what such mechanisms are.

Malcolm Chisholm: Hospitals are expected to meet the new clinical standards for Food, Fluid and Nutritional Care issued by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHSQIS) on 19 September 2003. NHSScotland’s performance against these standards will be monitored by a process of self assessment and peer review overseen by NHSQIS. The results will be published in due course.

  The bulk of food and ingredients used in NHS kitchens is purchased through Scottish Healthcare Supplies (SHS) which is part of the Common Services Agency. SHS has stringent contract and auditing procedures in place to ensure quality. All food suppliers premises and practices are audited.

  In addition hospitals have their own procedures in place to monitor quality. These include patient satisfaction surveys and monitoring food waste.

  Audit Scotland has recently completed a review of hospital catering. The results are expected to be published later this month.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to monitor the success or failure of the healthy living campaign.

Malcolm Chisholm: A comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme has been in place since the launch of the healthy living campaign. We are tracking awareness and understanding of the TV adverts. We are monitoring the number and type of calls to the advice line and level of traffic to the healthy living  website, as well as demand for these services in different socio-economic groups. Success in the longer term will be measured using data from on-going surveys such as the Scottish Health Survey.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the cost of the healthy living campaign to date.

Malcolm Chisholm: The figures on the cost of the healthy living campaign are laid out in the following table.

  Cost of the Healthy Living Campaign from 7 January to 4 November 2003

  

  
 2002-03 (Jan to end March)
 2003-04 (April to 4 Nov)


 Advertising
 £1,404,864
 £1,029,271


 Evaluation and Monitoring
 £17, 955
 £75,000


 Resource Development/ Promotional Items
 £98,368
 £62,000


 Advice line
 £171,826
 £175,697


 Website
 £35,395
 £4,484


 Total
 £1.73m
 £1.35m

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the use of vitamin and mineral supplements for elderly people has been considered as a preventative action in relation to the long-term health of elderly people.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is currently considering the risks and benefits associated with vitamin and mineral supplements for the elderly. This work is being taken forward as part of the implementation of Adding Life to Years , the report of the expert group on the health care of older people.

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether progress on palliative care will form a specific part of the next accountability reviews of NHS boards.

Malcolm Chisholm: The agendas for the annual NHS Accountability Review process in summer 2004 will be drawn up and agreed between the Health Department and each NHS board in the light of national and local priorities. It will therefore be for discussion whether palliative care forms part of this agenda.

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have developed palliative care strategies arising from the establishment of palliative care networks.

Malcolm Chisholm: Boards’ local health plans include a palliative care strategy.

  Palliative care lends itself to a Managed Clinical Network (MCN) approach, and local palliative care MCNs are being developed by NHS Borders, NHS Forth Valley and NHS Lothian. The west of Scotland is developing a palliative care MCNs on a regional basis.

Health

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will appoint a senior official to co-ordinate the public procurement of Scottish produce as part of its healthy eating campaign.

Malcolm Chisholm: Sustainable food procurement is an important issue for Scotland’s food and agricultural industries and for local and national economies as well as a potential approach to supporting healthy eating. While European law prohibits discrimination between suppliers on grounds of nationality, focussing on quality issues such as the need for freshness, seasonal produce and high standards of animal husbandry may be to the advantage of Scottish food producers. From this range of perspectives, officials from relevant Executive departments are currently exploring the issues, learning from existing models and emerging thinking from other countries. The Executive will consider effective mechanisms for co-ordination across the range of relevant interests.

Health

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the prescription of stoma appliances is currently under review and, if so, what aspects of the provision of such appliances are being reviewed and what options are under consideration.

Mr Tom McCabe: No. There is no review under way at present, and we have no plans to review the prescribing of stoma appliances.

Health

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Ebixa (memantine) is being routinely prescribed for the treatment of moderately severe to severe Alzheimer’s disease.

Malcolm Chisholm: In August 2003, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) considered memantine (Ebixa) and on the evidence submitted by the manufacturer did not recommend it for use in NHSScotland. We understand from the SMC that they have been in touch with the manufacturer and expect a resubmission.

  SMC advice does not override the individual responsibility of health professionals to make appropriate decisions in the circumstances of the individual patient. Prescription data for January to August 2003 (the latest available data) show that a total of 1,205 prescribed items for memantine were dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors in Scotland. Data on prescriptions dispensed by hospitals or hospital-based clinics are not available centrally.

Light Pollution

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to deal with light pollution.

Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-1686 on 12 November 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether research has been carried out into any links between nutritional deficiencies and mental health illness.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office, (CSO), within the Scottish Executive health department, has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. CSO is largely a response mode funder of research and this role is well known and advertised throughout the health care and academic community.

  CSO has directly funded one recently completed research project into links between nutritional deficiencies and mental health illness entitled, "Can schizophrenic patients improve their diet?". A copy of the executive summary of the findings can be found on the Chief Scientist Office (CSO)’s website, http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/cso, under Publications/Executive Summaries/May 2003 - Health Services Research, project reference number K/OPR/2/2/D396.

  CSO would be pleased to consider further research proposals for innovative studies on this subject of a sufficiently high standard. These would be subject to the usual peer and committee review.

  In addition, the National Research Register (NRR), a UK-wide research database, records two on-going projects and a small number of completed projects on links between nutritional deficiencies and mental health illness. Details of these projects are available from the NRR, a copy of which is in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 17404).

Ministerial Correspondence

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Lord Advocate will reply to Ian Hamilton QC in respect of his concerns about the quality of the fingerprint service provided by the Scottish Criminal Record Office, as reported in the Sunday Herald on 5 October 2003.

Colin Boyd QC: I wrote to Ian Hamilton QC on 8 October 2003 and a copy of the reply was sent to the member on the same date.

National Health Service

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many administrative staff posts will be affected by the merger of NHS boards and trusts and what savings the NHS expects to make in each of the next three years as a result of this amalgamation.

Malcolm Chisholm: We explained in the white paper A Partnership for Care , published in February 2003, that the move to single system working through dissolving NHS trusts is intended to create single NHS organisations at local level with a common set of aims and values and clear lines of accountability. This will help to strengthen corporate working and provide clear strategic direction.

  Under these arrangements, the employment of all NHS trust staff is transferring to the relevant NHS board as the single NHS employer in the area. The principles set out in the NHS national organisational change policy will apply.

  Information about estimated financial savings from dissolution of NHS trusts is not collected centrally, since the achievement of financial savings is not an objective of the policy. Nevertheless savings are already being realised in NHS board areas where single system working is in place. The Executive expects these savings to be reinvested in patient care.

National Health Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that nurses and other health care staff employed by the NHS who are required to use their own vehicles when working in the community are fairly and fully reimbursed for the costs they incur.

Malcolm Chisholm: The levels of mileage allowances and all other travel and subsistence allowances for nurses and other health care staff are negotiated nationally through the General Whitley Council.

  Discussions with staff organisations have resulted in an agreement in principle that any decisions about arrangements for travel and subsistence should be taken following the establishment of the new NHS staff council to be created in the wake of Agenda for Change, the new pay system for NHS staff. This is subject to the outcome of the staff ballot on Agenda for Change to be held by a number of staff organisations next year.

Nuclear Submarines

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-411 by Ross Finnie on 18 September 2003, what the outcome was of discussions with Her Majesty’s Government following the Ministry of Defence’s announcement on 11 September 2003 regarding the decommissioning and storage of nuclear submarines in Scotland.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has discussed procedural aspects of the consultation process with the Ministry of Defence. We expect to be kept fully informed of developments.

Nursing

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provides to nursing students in rural areas who may have to travel considerable distances each day to their clinical placements.

Malcolm Chisholm: The nursing and midwifery student bursary provides normal day to day living support, including daily travelling costs from home to the student’s institution. When they are on placement, students can apply for expenses they incur that are above what they normally spend when in attendance at their institution. These expenses can include additional travelling costs and board or lodging charges if students have to live away from their term time address while they are on placement.

Parliamentary Questions

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2994 by Ms Margaret Curran on 21 October 2003, why it did not provide the information sought in that question in graph form as requested, a format it has previously used in answer to a question requesting comparison between Scottish, English and Welsh figures, and whether it will now do so.

Ms Margaret Curran: While the Scottish Executive will ensure that any information provided is presented in a comprehensible manner, this does not imply a responsibility to provide information in a particular format as part of a response to a parliamentary question. The information requested is publicly available through the Parliament’s Reference Centre and other sources; urgent requests for factual information may be addressed directly to relevant staff in the Executive after first having tried alternative available sources such as the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

People with Disabilities

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has regarding any increase in the use of coaches for public transport as a result of changes brought in by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the cost implications of any such increase change; what financial assistance will be made available to coach operators in respect of any such increase in usage; what effect any such change may have on fares; what assistance will be made available to local authorities for infrastructure improvements at bus stations and stops to facilitate disabled access to coaches, and what steps can be taken by local authorities to provide such infrastructure improvements on trunk roads.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive does not have any information regarding any increase in the use of coaches for public transport as a result of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

  The DDA is a reserved matter and it is not the responsibility of the Executive to help providers to fund DDA compliance.

  The Executive will shortly be consulting on introducing a national free off-peak bus scheme for disabled people. This consultation will include coach operators on the way this concession will be re-imbursed to operators.

  Local authorities are already putting in place through their local transport strategies plans for facilitating disabled access to transport.

Planning

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the ruling of 23 October 2003 at the High Court in England, which overruled a decision to give approval for a mobile phone mast on health grounds, will have any effect on the way Scottish local authorities are required to assess planning applications for mobile phone masts and, if so, whether guidance on the matter will be issued.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: It would be for individual planning authorities to consider the effect of any court decision relating to planning matters on their consideration of a planning application. The Executive’s policy on this matter remains as stated in National Planning Policy Guideline 19: Radio Telecommunications(NPPG19):<http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/Planning/nppg_19_radiotelecom.aspx. It encourages operators to take all reasonable efforts to select sites which minimise public concern and states that the consideration of options and alternatives is a material consideration in the determination of applications for radio telecommunications equipment.

Planning

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-588 by Ross Finnie on 9 October 2003, whether any of the area formerly known as Rosyth Royal Naval Dockyard, purchased by Babcock Rosyth Defence Limited in 1997, still has Crown immunity in respect of planning purposes and any other purposes as defined in the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: It would be inappropriate to comment on the planning position of particular sites, as development proposals could come before the Scottish ministers for a decision. In general, Crown immunity from planning controls would extend to development by or on behalf of the Crown on Crown land. It would be a matter for the developer and the planning authority, in the first instance, to determine if planning permission was required, based on the facts of the case at the time the development was to be carried out.

  Radioactive discharges from the Dockyard are regulated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, by authorisations issued under the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993. Crown immunity is not applied.

Police

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to section 16 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill, how many police officers of or above the rank of Superintendent are on duty on an average Friday or Saturday night within the "A" Division of Lothian and Borders Police.

Cathy Jamieson: The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. The provisions on dispersal of groups in the Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Bill do not require senior officers to be on duty at any specific times.

Prison Service

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners were detained in HM Prison Cornton Vale on 29 October 2003 (a) in total and (b) serving (i) custodial sentences for non-payment of fines and (ii) sentences of (1) between seven days and three months, (2) between three and six months, (3) between six months and two years, (4) between two and five years and (5) over five years.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  

 (a) 230


 (b) (i) 4


 (ii) (1) 7


 (2) 14


 (3) 47


 (4) 43


 (5) 51

Rail Freight

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many spare paths exist for freight trains each week on the Nith Valley line.

Nicol Stephen: I understand that the Nith Valley Line is currently operating at or near capacity. The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has identified and is currently developing a number of capacity enhancement measures.

Rail Freight

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what constraints there are with regard to the resumption of rail freight services to (a) Stranraer and (b) Cameron Bridge.

Nicol Stephen: I understand that Network Rail is not aware of any physical constraints which may prevent the resumption of services to Stranraer and Cameron Bridge. However, the resumption of freight services to these locations is a commercial matter for freight operating companies to consider, in consultation with Network Rail.

Rail Services

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it will give to the quality of service provided to the public when it awards the franchise for rail travel in Scotland.

Nicol Stephen: The specification for the next ScotRail franchise issued on 28 July 2003 included targets for punctuality, reliability and customer care. The bids for the franchise were received by the Strategic Rail Authority on 27 October. During the assessment of these bids, all aspects of bidders’ proposals and their compliance with the specification will be considered and will contribute to the eventual decision as to the preferred bidder.

Rail Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what submissions it has received and what proposals it has regarding the rail service to Dunbar in respect of both the East Coast Mainline and the Scotrail franchise.

Nicol Stephen: Rail services to Dunbar are provided by Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) under the East Coast Main Line franchise (ECML). The Scottish Executive has not received any detailed project proposals for a local rail service to Dunbar either under the ECML or ScotRail franchise. Any such proposal should be developed at a local level and I understand from my recent meeting with Mr John Home Robertson MSP and representatives of East Lothian Council and Rail Action Group East of Scotland (R.A.G.E.S) that consideration is being given to compiling such a proposal.

Regulation of Care

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether guidance issued to local authorities on the direction of choice in regard to discharge from hospitals to care homes is being reviewed; if so, what form the consultation process is taking; who is being consulted; what views have been expressed, and whether any representations have raised issues relating to the implementation of the guidance in rural areas.

Mr Tom McCabe: A wide variety of statutory and non statutory bodies were consulted about revised draft Guidance on Choice of Accommodation in November 2002. In response, a range of comments have been received and some of these have expressed concern about choice and the availability of suitable care in rural areas.

Renewable Energy

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place in respect of applications to build wind farms; whether such measures include impact assessments on social and economic criteria, and how many jobs are currently involved in building wind farms.

Lewis Macdonald: The planning regime aims to ensure that changes in land use occur in suitable locations and are sustainable. This principle equally underpins determinations on wind farms with a capacity up to 50 megawatts, which are determined by the planning authority in terms of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, and determinations on wind farms with a capacity in excess of 50 megawatts which are determined by the Scottish ministers in terms of section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

  In arriving at a determination on a wind farm application, the decision maker, whether it is the planning authority or the Scottish ministers, will consider a range of environmental, economic and social criteria. On each individual application, the decision maker will assess the weight to be placed on all the material considerations.

  Information on the number of wind farm construction jobs is not collated centrally.

Renewable Energy

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken into the possibility of job creation in connection with the development of alternative energy.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive, in partnership with Renewables UK, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, has commissioned a study of the current status of the UK renewables industry and its future potential. Employment opportunities arising from the development of renewable energy will be a key output. The results of the study, which will report on the position in Scotland separately, are expected to be published later this year, and will inform the work of the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS), which we have set up to maximise the economic benefits to Scotland from renewable energy.

Renewable Energy

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many turbines and blades have been produced in Scotland for Scottish and UK-based wind farms in each of the last five years and how these figures compare with exports of turbines and blades to other EU countries developing wind farms.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not held centrally.

Renewable Energy

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications it is currently considering for the establishment of (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind farms, broken down by local authority area.

Lewis Macdonald: We are presently considering 12 applications for onshore wind farms under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. Three of these applications extend over more than one local authority area . There are no applications for offshore wind farms before the Executive at this time.

  A summary table follows:

  

 Local Authority Area
 No. of Onshore 
  Wind Farms Under Consideration


 Aberdeenshire
 13


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1


 West Lothian
 12


 East Ayrshire
 11


 East Renfrewshire
 11


 Highland
 2


 Inverclyde
 1


 Moray
 43


 North Lanarkshire
 12


 Scottish Borders
 1


 South Lanarkshire
 21,2


 Stirling
 1


 Total No. of Windfarms
 12 Onshore



  Notes:

  1. Whitelee wind farm extends over South Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire local authority areas.

  2. Black Law wind farm extends over South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and West Lothian local authority areas.

  3. Clashindarroch wind farm extends over Moray and Aberdeenshire local authority areas.

Road Accidents

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many accidents have been recorded on the A90 at the Invernorth and Gash junctions south of Fraserburgh in each of the last seven years and how many such accidents have involved fatalities.

Nicol Stephen: The number of fatal, serious and slight injury accidents that have occurred on the A90 in the vicinity of the Invernorth and Gash junctions south of Fraserburgh in each of the last seven years (up to the beginning of 2003) is as follows:

  

 Year
 Fatal
 Serious
 Slight
 Total


 1996
 0
 0
 0
 0


 1997
 0
 1
 2
 3


 1998
 1
 1
 1
 3


 1999
 0
 0
 0
 0


 2000
 0
 1
 0
 1


 2001
 0
 0
 1
 1


 2002
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Total
 1
 3
 4
 8

School Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4716 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 12 April 2000, what costs were incurred by each local authority in respect of school transport in each year since 1998.

Peter Peacock: The information requested is set out in the following table. 2001-02 is the latest financial year for which information is available.

  Net Revenue Expenditure by Local Authorities on School Transport (£000 at Outturn Prices)

  

  
 1998-99
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02


 Aberdeen City
 £1,851
 £1,856
 £2,257
 £2,451


 Aberdeenshire
 £8,001
 £9,810
 £9,711
 £9,952


 Angus
 £1,363
 £1,494
 £1,517
 £1,689


 Argyll and Bute
 £3,526
 £3,750
 £3,665
 £3,604


 Clackmannanshire
 £627
 £623
 £643
 £683


 Dumfries and Galloway
 £2,285
 £2,551
 £2,630
 £2,689


 City of Dundee
 £628
 £646
 £876
 £645


 East Ayrshire
 £2,886
 £2,982
 £3,001
 £3,164


 East Dunbartonshire
 £1,509
 £1,701
 £1,955
 £2,120


 East Lothian
 £1,276
 £1,311
 £1,373
 £1,663


 East Renfrewshire
 £1,504
 £1,507
 £1,623
 £1,738


 City of Edinburgh
 £2,524
 £2,812
 £3,153
 £3,398


 Eilean Siar
 £1,615
 £1,697
 £1,818
 £1,846


 Falkirk
 £2,005
 £1,112
 £1,155
 £2,385


 Fife
 £5,164
 £5,934
 £6,275
 £6,622


 City of Glasgow
 £5,003
 £6,241
 £7,216
 £8,301


 Highland
 £6,613
 £7,158
 £7,163
 £7,891


 Inverclyde
 £774
 £881
 £1,085
 £772


 Midlothian
 £939
 £1,043
 £1,071
 £1,153


 Moray
 £1,824
 £2,437
 £2,049
 £2,264


 North Ayrshire
 £2,368
 £2,403
 £2,454
 £2,498


 North Lanarkshire
 £4,599
 £5,041
 £5,401
 £5,933


 Orkney Islands
 £905
 £1,048
 £1,019
 £1,073


 Perth and Kinross
 £3,254
 £3,577
 £3,701
 £3,791


 Renfrewshire
 £2,200
 £2,410
 £2,229
 £2,603


 Scottish Borders
 £2,303
 £2,403
 £2,880
 £3,063


 Shetland Islands
 £1,097
 £1,098
 £1,389
 £1,408


 South Ayrshire
 £1,859
 £2,049
 £2,061
 £2,073


 South Lanarkshire
 £5,061
 £5,483
 £5,329
 £6,338


 Stirling
 £1,589
 £1,727
 £1,814
 £1,820


 West Dunbartonshire
 £988
 £1,126
 £1,047
 £1,262


 West Lothian
 £1,979
 £2,634
 £2,666
 £3,100


 Scotland
 £80,119
 £88,545
 £92,226
 £99,992



  Notes:

  1. The figures represent net revenue expenditure on home to school transport, covering direct provision (including salaries and wages), fares paid by authorities, contract hire and other forms of transport.

  2. The figures are reported by authorities in their annual Local Financial Returns (LFR 1).

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what quality checks were made in respect of the fingerprinting evidence submitted by the Scottish Criminal Record Office for the High Court trial in Ayr during September and October 2003 of Mark Sinclair; who carried out the checks, and what the outcome was.

Cathy Jamieson: The initial identification of the scene of crime mark was made by a fingerprint expert of the Scottish Fingerprint Service, Glasgow bureau at the Scottish Criminal Records Office. This identification was followed by two independent verifications by other experts at the bureau.

  As the identification was made on less than the standard of 16 points, the case was referred to the quality assurance manager of the bureau who confirmed the identification.

  The procedures in Glasgow fingerprint bureau are accredited to ISO 9001:2000 standard. The fingerprint experts in the bureau are subject to external annual competency testing and are registered by the Council Registration of Forensic Practitioners.

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in how many criminal court cases in each of the last three years in which the Scottish Criminal Record Office has submitted fingerprint evidence has the accused been found guilty.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not available.

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times in each of the last three years the Scottish Criminal Record Office has submitted fingerprint evidence in criminal cases and how many times that evidence has been disputed in open court.

Cathy Jamieson: The number of cases where the Scottish Criminal Record Office has submitted fingerprint evidence in criminal cases in the last three years is as follows:

  


2000-01

343


 2001-02
 235


 2002-03
 276



  During that period, fingerprint experts gave evidence on 25 occasions. Information is not, however, available on the number of cases in which their evidence may have been disputed.

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has decided not to use fingerprint evidence provided by the Scottish Criminal Record Office to it in court cases in each of the last three years.

Colin Boyd QC: There are a number of reasons why a prosecutor may decide not to use evidence in court.

  I am not aware of any case other than that of Mark Sinclair, which concluded in the High Court in Ayr in October 2003, in which the Crown has decided not to use fingerprint evidence provided by the Scottish Criminal Record Office following a challenge to that evidence by a defence expert. However, no central record of such challenges is kept.

Scottish Executive Finance

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much will be spent on each of the 59 headings referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland (a) in the current year and (b) in each of the next three years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information is not held in a form which can be allocated among the 59 headings. The Executive’s 2004-05 Draft Budget was published on 11 September 2003. This provides information on the Executive’s expenditure for the current year and the next two years. Information on expenditure for 2006-07 will be made available after the 2004 spending review.

  Additional expenditure announced in the 2004-05 Draft Budget which has been allocated specifically to meet extra costs arising from the partnership agreement can be broken down per portfolio as follows.

  

 
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 
 £ million
 £ million
 £ million


 Justice
 0.5
 13.5
 25


 Transport
 5
 16.7
 23


 Education
 0
 29
 49


 Communities
 0
 15
 15


 Enterprise and Lifelong Learning
 0
 10
 15


 Health and Community Care
 12
 36.5
 32


 Tourism Culture and Sport
 0
 3.5
 4


 COPFS
 0
 0.43
 0.65


 Youth Crime/Anti-Social Behaviour
 0
 15
 20


 Totals
 17.5
 140
 184


 
 Total 
  across all years:
 341



  In addition, further money has not yet been allocated to specific portfolios, since it will pay for commitments whose costs are still under negotiation.

Scottish Executive Publications

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was of producing and distributing the document Building Better Cities, Delivering Growth and Opportunities .

Mr Andy Kerr: The total cost of producing and distributing the document Building Better Cities, Delivering Growth and Opportunities was £7,941.

Transport

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on roads in the current financial year from budgets other than the core transport budget, including from European development funds.

Nicol Stephen: For financial year 2003-04 local authorities estimate they will spend £289.583 million on roads*. There are currently 12 road projects totalling £11.889 million, with a lifespan of between one and five years, being funded by European Structural Funds.

  * Source: Provisional Outturn/Budget Estimate provided by local authorities.

Water Industry

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons were for not capping increases in water bills for business customers.

Ross Finnie: The Charges Scheme for 2003-04 was agreed by Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioner within the revenue cap set by ministers. This scheme set the increases in charges to different groups of customers.

Water Industry

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanism it will use to ensure that future strategic reviews of charges in the water industry will consider the capacity of Scottish Water to meet new demands, including projected new housing, commercial and industrial developments.

Ross Finnie: The quality and standards process is the mechanism for dealing with such issues. The consultation which will follow the options identified by this process will include both the options for addressing development constraints and the impact on customer charges of pursuing these options.

Water Industry

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will assist low income households pay water bills when the Transitional Water and Waste Water Charges Scheme ends on 31 March 2004.

Ross Finnie: The current transitional scheme was set up to provide additional assistance to enable low income households adjust to increased water and wastewater charges. The main source of assistance remains the link between domestic charges and the banding and discount arrangements of the council tax system.

Water Industry

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it received in regard to any potential impact of new pricing arrangements on water bills of business customers.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive received advice from the Water Industry Commissioner in the Strategic Review of Charges before setting the revenue caps for the years 2002 to 2006. The Charges Scheme for 2003-04 was agreed by Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioner within the revenue cap set by ministers.

Water Industry

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the range will be of any increases arising from new water pricing arrangements.

Ross Finnie: The revenue cap set by ministers for 2004-05 allows for an increase in total revenue of 4.6%, followed by a decrease the following year. Under the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, it is for Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioner to agree the annual Charges Scheme, which details charges for individual groups of customers within this revenue cap.

Water Industry

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce any measures to assist water customers affected by increases in water bills.

Ross Finnie: The transitional household reduction scheme was set up to help households adjust to increased charges. It will come to an end in March 2004. Issues of affordability for domestic customers will continue to be addressed through the link to council tax band and associated discounts. There are no plans for any measures to assist business customers.

Water Industry

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation is envisaged by the Water Industry Commissioner for the next strategic review of charges for water and sewerage services.

Ross Finnie: The Executive will set the remit upon which the Water Industry Commissioner will undertake the next strategic review of water and sewerage charges. The remit will reflect the outcome of the planned public consultation on the targets for quality and standards to be achieved by Scottish Water during the period covered by the review.

  In undertaking the review, the Commissioner will draw upon a wide range of customers’ views, including those represented to him by the water customer consultation panels.

Young People

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding will be made available to local authorities for the provision of services to young people leaving care.

Euan Robson: I am pleased to announce that the Executive is making £10 million available over this and the next two years to provide an improved service to young people leaving care, including a full assessment of their needs, and to provide financial and other support for some young people in place of existing Department of Work and Pensions benefits. Local authorities are being informed of their allocation which is detailed in the following table.

  

 
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Aberdeen City
 £32,739
 £130,957
 £163,696


 Aberdeenshire
 £21,706
 £86,826
 £108,532


 Angus
 £15,362
 £61,449
 £76,811


 Argyll and Bute
 £11,654
 £46,616
 £58,270


 Clackmannanshire
 £10,245
 £40,982
 £51,227


 Dumfries and Galloway
 £20,273
 £81,093
 £101,366


 Dundee City
 £41,268
 £165,070
 £206,338


 East Ayrshire
 £26,356
 £105,423
 £131,779


 East Dunbartonshire
 £10,471
 £41,884
 £52,355


 East Lothian
 £13,685
 £54,738
 £68,423


 East Renfrewshire
 £9,624
 £38,496
 £48,120


 Edinburgh
 £81,563
 £326,252
 £407,815


 Eilean Siar
 £2,553
 £10,211
 £12,764


 Falkirk
 £26,783
 £107,134
 £133,917


 Fife
 £64,972
 £259,889
 £324,861


 Glasgow
 £210,204
 £840,816
 £1,051,020


 Highland
 £31,416
 £125,664
 £157,080


 Inverclyde
 £20,943
 £83,771
 £104,713


 Midlothian
 £14,422
 £57,690
 £72,112


 Moray
 £10,597
 £42,389
 £52,986


 North Ayrshire
 £33,534
 £134,134
 £167,668


 North Lanarkshire
 £73,210
 £292,841
 £366,051


 Orkney
 £1,660
 £6,640
 £8,300


 Perth and Kinross
 £16,597
 £66,388
 £82,985


 Renfrewshire
 £38,175
 £152,700
 £190,875


 Scottish Borders
 £12,328
 £49,312
 £61,640


 Shetland
 £2,192
 £8,766
 £10,958


 South Ayrshire
 £17,009
 £68,038
 £85,047


 South Lanarkshire
 £55,949
 £223,797
 £279,746


 Stirling
 £13,210
 £52,839
 £66,049


 West Dunbartonshire
 £27,701
 £110,802
 £138,503


 West Lothian
 £31,599
 £126,394
 £157,993


 Total
 £1,000,000
 £4,000,000
 £5,000,000

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Staff

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether any costs were incurred in the employment of the acting Parliamentary Standards Commissioner from 1 April 2003 and, if so, what they were, broken down by wages and expenses; whether the contract of the acting commissioner was extended beyond 31 March 2003 and, if so when, by what process this extension was agreed and who was involved in the decision to extend the contract.

Robert Brown (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): The acting Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner received a salary of £3,907.82 and expenses of £144.44 for work undertaken on investigating complaints against members during the period 1 April 2003 to the end of his contract (7 October 2003).

  The acting Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Mr William Spence QPM, was appointed by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body on 31 January 2003. The Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Dr Jim Dyer, took up his appointment on 1 April 2003. Under the terms of Mr Spence’s appointment, the acting Standards Commissioner was to be regarded as continuing to investigate a complaint until the Standards Committee had confirmed that no assistance or further assistance from the acting standards commissioner would be sought.

Parliamentary Staff

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer when Dr Jim Dyer began his appointment as the permanent Parliamentary Standards Commissioner and what costs have been incurred to date in relation to his employment, broken down into salary and expenses.

Robert Brown (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body: Dr Jim Dyer OBE took up his appointment as Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner on 1 April 2003. Total costs incurred from 1 April to 31 October 2003 are £34,233, broken down as follows: salaries £27,061 (including ERNIC and pension) and expenses of £7,172.